Wake Me Up
by mentaly
Summary: Total opposites, Jack and Rapunzel meet and begin as enemies. Over time, they see different sides to each other and realize that there is more to them than meets the eye. - This is a modern AU.
1. New Beginnings and Bad Days

The blonde was sat on her bed, nervous for her first day in her new school. It was early February and the second semester had just started, but Rapunzel had to transfer because her mother, Gothel, had some sort of long-term business in town. What this business would be, was beyond Rapunzel's knowledge.

So, there she was, sitting on her bed and hugging her knees, not knowing what to expect. She began to think of skipping school for today, when her mother called on her. Reluctantly, she headed downstairs with her homemade bag slung on her shoulder. "Ready, mother," announced Rapunzel with a forced smile. "Do I look o—

"Finally! Goodness, you took ages," complained Gothel, who was dressed in her black dress with her hair down, like she was headed more to a date than an appointment. "Now let's go, I'm going to be late for…" she paused, struggling for a good word. "Something" was what she came up with.

In the car, Gothel rambled on about how Rapunzel should be careful and distrusting with boys. She had always been overprotective of her, and Rapunzel resented her slightly for this. Still, she was in a constant state of denial and knows her mother was only looking out for her.

After what seemed like an eternity, they reached the school compound and Rapunzel got out of the car, both nervous and eager.

Gothel had a last-minute reminder. "Remember dear, don't talk to strangers!"

"I won't, mother!" answered Rapunzel as politely as she could, though inside she was dying to scoff. "Good," said Gothel, and sped away in her Sedan.

"Here goes nothing," the seventeen-year-old whispered to herself as she headed for the entrance.

* * *

_Five more minutes, please?_ Jack pleaded inside his mind, trying to fight off the loud buzzing of the alarm clock on his bedside table. When he realized that he couldn't fight the annoying sound, he reached out for the thing and slammed his fist on it, hitting the snooze button.

His sister then recklessly barged in the room—while he was still in his underwear—urging him to wake up. Jack tried to cover himself up with his blanket, but didn't bother facing his sister at the door.

"Mom and Dad have been calling you for the past hour now. We're gonna be late!" she shrieked. Jack blinked a few times and got out, "I don't care, Em, leave me alone," and turned to his side so that he wouldn't have to face her.

"If you say so," she replied, and headed out the room. The sound of their car's engines starting filled up the place, but the boy barely noticed. All he wanted, at that moment, was sleep.

But of course, he would have to get up sooner or later.

Right before he reached the top of a tower he was climbing—in his dreams, that is—the alarm clock started buzzing again and sent him straight up, slightly disoriented. He looked at the time and rolled his eyes. "Just great," he muttered. "I said five minutes, not thirty."

Having missed the first and only bus that passed by his school, he hopped onto a different one. Inside were all the kids that went to some other campus. There were nerds, goths, hipsters, the popular crowd, and more, all of which he glared at. A freshman with glasses got in his way and, being the bully that he was, Jack looked down on him with a mean stare.

"Get out of my way, _punk_," he muttered. The trembling boy did so.

Jack went on looking for a seat, refusing to sit beside anyone he identified as a loser. Finally, he settled on an empty seat near the back and stared out the window as the bus drove off.

* * *

**Favorite if you want me to continue this.**


	2. An Acquaintance

"Now, please bring out your copies of_ Macbeth_," the English teacher announced in her very high-pitched voice, making Rapunzel cringe a bit. She bent over and shuffled around in her bag, struggling to find it in her horde of belongings. When she finally grabbed hold of her book, a tall figure was standing in front of her, staring at her in a rather demeaning way. He was a boy of brown hair and pale skin, and he was wearing a blue hoodie and some pair of jeans and sneakers. He had such striking features, but what caught her attention the most were his eyes—they were extremely blue.

Rapunzel seemed to be in a state of trance for a while, until the boy spoke up. "Hey Blondie, tidy up much?" His voice was low and smooth, very much in contrast with the teacher's. The girl found herself in stammers.

"I… uh, well…" She then reached for her things and began putting them back inside her bag, embarrassed. Meanwhile the boy found his seat behind her, and the class went on.

It went smoothly for the first thirty minutes, until the blonde started to hear soft whispers and giggles from behind her. She tried to ignore them at first, but eventually they grew louder and annoying, making it hard for her to concentrate. She started to turn back and glare at the people talking behind her, but halfway through she decided against it and went back to ignoring it. It took her a lot of effort, but the class was going to end in a while anyway.

After English period, everyone scurried on to their next classes. Rapunzel, however, caught up with the boy in the blue hoodie and confronted him by the lockers. "You know, I'd appreciate it if you and your seatmate tried to keep it down with the flirting," she said, as confident as she can—and as she'll ever be. The boy wrinkled his brow in confusion. "Uh, do I know you?" he asked.

"English class?" she reminded him, finding his pretend innocence slightly irritating. "I was right in front of you."

A look of sudden realization crept up on his face. "Oh, right," he said, and then in a lower, slightly flirty tone, he continued. "How's it going, Blondie?"

The girl stared in disbelief. "Listen, I don't know what your deal is, but all I want is a smooth, murmur-free year of English classes. If you wanna keep getting it on with that redhead, I'd suggest you do it some place else."

Her expression was serious, but not stern. She just really wasn't liking this guy. "Oh, and by the way, I have a name."

He held his hands up. "Alright, alright. I getcha," he began, only to be cut off by a passerby. Who also happened to be his girlfriend.

"_Hi_, baby," A brunette with her hair up in a ponytail and purple ribbon interrupted them. She ran her polished nails all over the boy's shoulders and clung onto him like hell, as if someone were to steal him away. _Wow_, was all Rapunzel could think.

"Didn't see you this morning," the brunette continued, looking at the boy accusingly. "Where were you?" She waited a while—but not long enough to hear an answer. "I thought I told you to quit slacking off. For Christ's sake, Jack…" she huffed. "We'll talk later."

"Who's this?" She pointed at Rapunzel, whose eyes widened, wondering why she was still even there in the first place. "Oh, I'm R—

"Great! I'm Anna. Nice to meet you. Would you mind if me and my boyfriend had a little privacy for like, one sec?"

Though slightly taken aback, Rapunzel awkwardly nodded and stepped away. She looked behind once and saw that Anna was chiding Jack; at least it seemed like it. For a while she felt sorry for him for having to deal with his seemingly possessive girlfriend, but then she remembered she didn't like him.

* * *

Walking briskly through the halls, she was off to her next class—Chemistry. She entered the laboratory, in her lab gown and protective glasses, and found her seat and partner. Since everyone was already assigned their own, she decided to take the vacant working space at the back and laid down all her books and things.

The teacher spoke up. "Alright class, is everyone here?" he asked. A girl with her honey blonde hair tied up in a neat bun whispered something—probably a name—to him, but his expression didn't change. "Ah well, I'm not surprised," he said with a sigh.

"Right. Anyway, I heard we have a new student in our class. Ms. Rapunzel, correct?" The blonde politely nodded and returned to organizing her things. It was then someone entered the classroom; for a moment there, Rapunzel thought—and feared—that it was going to be Jack, but it turned out it was only a small, greenish boy with wide rimmed glasses and retainers. Rapunzel sighed in relief. "Mr. Pascal. Why are you late?" the teacher demanded. "I… I lost my lab coat, sir," the boy answered, his feet shuffling in between words. "I had to get… an extra."

The teacher nodded once, though he looked unconvinced. "Alright then, take your seat."

Pascal headed to the back, and set his things on the work space where Rapunzel had been staying. "I'll be sitting here… if you don't mind," he told her, while taking out his notebook and pen. "Oh, no, no problem at all," she said, and brought a hand out. "I'm Rapunzel, by the way."

"P-pascal…" he said, and warily shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you. Great name, by the way. You don't find many Pascals these days," she kid. They both chuckled, but soon her expression turned to worry. "Look, I'm not a science person. Would it be okay if you got stuck with me as your lab partner?"

"Y-yeah… sure," The pale boy nodded. "I've never had a lab partner before."

* * *

**Thanks for sticking around! Reviews/favorites are appreciated. If it's getting kinda dragging, please, please, _please_, let me know so I can improve. I won't take offense, I promise. :)**


	3. Subtlety

Pascal was Rapunzel's first friend. Even though they only had two classes together and were barely neighbors, they found time to hang out and get to know each other. As it turned out, Pascal was actually really fun; he got very talkative at times; and he was willing to do anything. He didn't work well with people—he was quite introverted—but since Rapunzel was a friend, he felt comfortable around her.

Rapunzel, however, began to familiarize herself with the school and its people. She thought of it as mostly okay; there were some difficult people here and there, but as long as she avoided them and didn't get into any sort of trouble, things were good.

The school had this routine. This sort of status quo. She would find the same people in the library, with their heads stuck in their books. She would see people wearing the same varsity jackets walking the halls in groups. And sometimes, just sometimes, she would catch them picking on the smaller kids at the back of the school. Of course, she'd want to try and stop them, but there's only so much a junior transfer student could do.

Weeks passed, and everyone was busier than ever. Papers were due, deadlines were missed, and even though Rapunzel was really, really, _really_ burnt out, she managed. Besides, she had Pascal to help her out almost everyday. But one morning, something didn't feel quite right.

_Pascal's only usually about five minutes late_, she thought, failing to keep her focus during Chemistry period. _And if he were to miss school, he would tell me. Not bail on me like this_.

"Alright, now class, pour the blue solution into the white one."

Still in deep thought, Rapunzel accidentally put the wrong chemical in the wrong beaker, and as a reaction, bubbles began to form rapidly and soon began to spill out of the container. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed. The liquid kept spilling out for a while, and eventually it stopped.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to…" she said, trying to keep her calm. "It appears as if someone hasn't been paying attention," their teacher said, a disappointed look on his face. Rapunzel was usually one of his best students.

* * *

Lunch time, and Pascal was still a no-show. Rapunzel had decided that he was probably just sick and had forgotten to tell her._ Or he could've been kidnapped by predators and no one will ever see him again_, her sub-conscious mind told her. She worried at first, and then went back to ignoring her thoughts. And eating her fries.

Out of nowhere did a familiar brown-haired boy appear. "So how's a pretty little thing like you sitting all alone here at lunch?" he teased, a smirk on his ever-arrogant face.

Rapunzel rolled her eyes. _Not again_.

"My friend's just sick," she huffed. "Want do you want, Jack?"

The boy shrugged. "Nothing, really, it's just," he paused for a moment, like he forgot what he was going to say. "Anna's sick too, so I'm alone. Some kind of symmetry, don't you think?"

She narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know, maybe you'd like to hang out?"

"…are you serious?" The girl couldn't comprehend what was happening; why would he want to hang out with, of all people, her? They barely knew each other. For all she knew—and cared, he might not even know her name. And if there was something Jack _did_ know about Rapunzel, it was that she hated it when he was on flirt mode, around her, that is. Which is probably why he kept it up.

"Why wouldn't I be serious?" He took some fries and popped it in his mouth. "_Heavenly_."

Rapunzel chuckled. She was getting irritated by his conceit, but at the same time there was this other feeling that was bothering her, one of which she couldn't quite distinguish. "When are you ever serious?"

Jack thought about it first, and then look stumped. "Fair enough," he said, nodding once. "Wow. Beautiful _and_ smart. What more can I ask for?"

And then he did that smile. That mesmerizing, alluring smile that seemed to compliment his eyes, bringing them out even more. That did it for Rapunzel. She just couldn't bear to look at those blue eyes a second more. Grabbing her stuff, she turned away and left, fries on the table unfinished.

_He's a jerk. He has a girlfriend. I should not be affected by that. I should not be affected by him_, she repeated to herself as she walked away, though her lips seemed to curl up a bit, as if she were suppressing a smile.

* * *

Before heading home, Rapunzel decided to visit Pascal to see if he was okay. It was ten blocks from her house, but she needed to check on her friend. After ringing the doorbell for the third time, Pascal's mother greeted her at the door.

"Sorry, dear, making dinner back there. Who might you be?"

"Oh, it's alright, Mrs. Wilson. I'm Pascal's friend, Rapunzel. I'm checking to see if he's okay?" she asked politely. "He hasn't been responding to my texts."

Pascal's mother seemed surprised. "Oh, but Pascal went to school this morning, dear. He hasn't come back since. Is there something wrong?"

A feeling of great worry swept over the blonde. Clutching her sling bag, she thanked Mrs. Wilson and took off. Something was _definitely_ wrong.

* * *

**I want to thank everyone who read, reviewed, followed, left a favorite, or even bothered to check this out. You guys are awesome. AND I'm sorry for cutting it short; I had to keep the suspense going. Don't worry though, I think Chapter 4 will be fun. And it might be posted within this week, I hope.**

**Feedback is always appreciated!**

** - Aly**

**PS. Anna is Tooth. Since Toothiana = Anna. :)**


	4. Revelations and a Plan

"So how long exactly have you been locked up in that Porta Potty?

The still in-trauma Pascal took a sip from his hot cocoa, which Rapunzel had made for him. He then shook his head gently, but whether it meant that he didn't know or he didn't want to talk about it, nobody knew.

"Hmm," Rapunzel crossed her arms and sat beside her friend. "Well, at least you're safe now, right?" She eased a smile, a warm smile that could make anyone feel loved and comforted. Pascal sheepishly returned the smile, but as he did so, the bruise on his cheek began to hurt.

They both cringed. "Sorry," the blonde blurted out awkwardly. "Are you sure you don't want to go to a hospital? A clinic?" She worried that he might have had a concussion of some sort, but she calmed herself down. There weren't any symptoms of it, anyway. Except maybe for his pale complexion, but he was always like that.

"Nah," Pascal finally said, setting his mug aside. "They'd call my mom, and why would I want that?"

Rapunzel shrugged. "I guess you wouldn't. "What are you gonna tell her, then?"

"I tripped. That's what I always tell her."

* * *

Rapunzel returned to the room with an ice pack for Pascal, who was on the phone. He sounded like he was talking to someone important. "Yeah, yeah, I'll be home in like, thirty minutes. No, I'm not doing drugs," Pascal said, his voice diminished into a whisper. "Yeah. Okay. I know. Bye, mom, love you."

"How sweet," she teased, handing him the ice pack.

Pascal glared at her. "Ha-ha, Blondie," he said in the most sarcastic way possible. Rapunzel frowned, and started shaking her head. "No, no, don't call me that," she mumbled, breaking eye contact with her friend.

"Aww, why not? If you haven't noticed, it does kind of fit—"

"Just don't, okay?" she interrupted firmly. She looked at Pascal and his confused—yet convincing—brown eyes and knew she would give in and tell him what's been bothering her any time soon. She huffed. "There's this guy in my English class, and he calls me that a lot."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Does this guy have a name?"

Rapunzel's eyes widened, not expecting Pascal to ask any further. Usually he was just indifferent whenever she mentioned boys. There were even times when he would scoff at her, before diverting to another topic. But this time wasn't like the usual. It almost seemed as if he were genuinely interested. Like an overprotective brother.

"Just forget it, Pascal," she said, knowing she'd probably spill the beans sooner or later. She felt her cheeks getting warmer.

He sighed, and in a submissive tone, decided, "Alright. Forget I asked."

Almost immediately, the girl closed her eyes and admitted, "Jack Frost!" Her further blushing led her to bury her face in her hands. She couldn't believe she just confessed to Pascal, and to herself for that matter. But it _was_ true, and she had to stop denying that even though Jack was quite the jerk, Rapunzel found him very attractive.

There was a moment of silence, which Pascal broke after almost a minute of Rapunzel covering her face and wiggling in excitement. "Rapunzel, are you _fangirling_?" he asked, holding his laughter.

"What do you think?!" She looked up at him, her face red as a tomato. Then she looked away again. "Oh, wow, Punz," he judged. "I think that's a little 2nd grade, don't you?" He couldn't help but chuckle a bit. Seeing Rapunzel like this was enjoyable, to say the least. But soon this joy ended.

"Wait._ Jack Frost_," Pascal repeated, the name sounding quite familiar. He paused a while in thought, his mind joining the pieces as if it were all a big, but solvable, puzzle. Eventually he connected the last piece. "Jack Frost, the pale dude with that signature hoodie of his? God, that guy's awful," he scowled insensitively.

Rapunzel seemed to frown as well. Facing Pascal, her expression turned serious. "You know him?" she asked.

The boy lifted his eyebrows. "Well, yeah, if someone's been beating you up since sophomore year, then of course, you'd know the person," he scoffed. "He's the one that did this to me and locked me up in that Porta Potty." He gestured to his messed up face. "He and his friends, of course."

"...w-what?" Rapunzel felt betrayed. Not like she and Jack were friends or anything, but this revelation left her extremely disappointed. Because she thought, beneath the jerk that was Jack, was a decent person who wouldn't harm a fly. She thought wrong.

"He's a ruffian, Punz," Pascal said. "He always has been. Well, not literally a ruffian, but uh, what's the word? _Bully_. Yup, he's a bully. So be careful, alright?"

Her jaw dropped. "Really?" she asked, hoping he was just joking. Jack couldn't be that bad, could he? But Pascal only nodded in silence. "Man, sorry to burst your bubble," he added soon after.

"N-no, it's alright, I'm fine," she said, stumbling upon her words. Just earlier she was so light-headed and frivolous, and now she felt like someone dropped an anvil on her. "Thanks for looking out for me, though. That's... very nice of you."

Pascal shrugged. "Well, you gave me hot cocoa, so..."

Rapunzel laughed. It wasn't fake and forced, but deep down she was still upset, and slightly angry. How could someone be so mean and horrible? Especially to her friend? "Why didn't you ever tell me? Your parents?"

"Oh, I told them, believe me," he began. "'_You're a big boy now, you can take care of yourself_,' was all they could say. But who blames them, they're too busy working so we can pay for rent. I should be the least of their worries," he explained. "And I couldn't tell you because..."

_I didn't want you to laugh at me_, he was about to say, but he stopped himself. It was only a good thing Rapunzel hadn't heard that last bit. He didn't want to look too vulnerable. And he didn't want to be pitied. Especially not by her.

Because if you liked a certain girl, you'd want to impress her, right?

* * *

It was another day in school. But ever since the Porta Potty incident weeks before, Rapunzel had been fixated on Jack and her newfound hatred for him, and knew something had to be done. While it wasn't like her to create such mischief, she felt it right to fight back. No one messes with her friends. And besides, Jack needed to be taught a lesson. A wake-up call.

The shrill ringing of the school bell brought her back to her senses; she had almost forgotten how boring English class was. She got up and cleared the room, with a sly smile on her lips, and a simple plan in mind.

* * *

**FINALLY OMG. I am so sorry for the lateness, guys. School (and lack of inspiration) will be the death of me. X( Anyway. I'm working on Chapter 5, tell me if you have any suggestions on what Punz should do for payback! I've got a few things on my list already, but maybe you guys can come up with something better. :) As always, feedback is appreciated. Thank you for your patience and support!**

**- Aly**


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